The marginalization of "The Left" through the years. Not hearing us now at all.

[patrice]

198. Liberals could make that demand of centrists if Liberals/the Left could SUCCEED. They don't succeed

because they threaten social and economic issues.

When it's between an un-articulated vision, without any road map, and with some indeterminate timeline, and some very fine, noble and actually authentic principles vs. care for a sick child or any other concrete NEED, people opt for more immediate forms of problem solving.

I think what Liberals should do is to learn how to do real base-building without threatening progress on social issues. No one needs to really lose sight of who they are in more inclusive relationships. That begins by understanding that public political threats produce the OPPOSITE effect that one might intend, because the opposition KNOWS all they have to do is wait for those who are threatening to make good on their threats, which failures will then snowball with others who were never part of the Left to begin with and never would be, but are just reacting to political failures that are affecting what they need.

Yes that threat with ones vote can an should be used in the right situation at the right time, in a very specific way, but blanket erosion of the only base there is for social justice only keeps the Left/Liberals permanently on the outside, because they are hurting the only ones who can be their natural allies and give them the kind of success they need to help them build more of a base for the Left.

And that pipe-dream that something big will happen to bring it all down and "we'll start all over" neglects to factor in that Liberals won't be the only one's "starting over". It won't be just like throwing a switch and presto chango everyone is on the Left. There will be much more REGRESSION than people realize. A lot of the resources that the Left needs in order to succeed politically can be lost to the time and stress of that kind of environment.